“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  Genesis 50:20

This pandemic is no joke. We all see the rising numbers of confirmed cases, and the deaths. It is hard to not let sadness set in. For some even harder to not let it settle into hopelessness. 

But God. 

We are weary of being inside, thinking about the missed opportunities, disappointments of unmet expectations, and the overall unending changes that are by-products of the Coronavirus. 

But God.

Here at YoungLives, just like everyone else across the world, we have had to learn new ways to reach out. New ways to remind the teens that we are still here for them. That can seem overwhelming when a ministry such as YoungLives consists of so much contact time with local teens and their kids, one-on-one time, group events, etc…

But God. He has His eyes on these families and just as He has always done, He has provided a way for us to continue to tell them they are seen and loved.

LET’S GET HIM BACK TO WORK!

Just a few days ago this photo was sent from one of our alumni teens. A young man working hard to provide for his family, his truck was broken into, and all his tools were taken. Feeling pretty defeated, he cancelled the jobs he had lined up. Thankfully though, he reached out. Then we reached out. Then God reached down, showed all of us He sees us. Within two days, thanks to so many people, tools were given, monetary donations, gift card to the tool store – and just like that, this young man is back in business. But God.

~North OC YoungLives Staff

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Some of our YoungLives families are really struggling. Lost jobs for multiple people in their households, fear of the unknowns, bare cupboards, and hungry little ones. We live in a wealthy county compared to many places around the world with access to food pantries and free meals which is honestly a gift that does not go unnoticed by any of us. Nonetheless, not everyone in this wealthy county has had the opportunity to “save up” or have “extras” on hand of other necessities that the pantries may not provide – the day-to-day here in Orange County is costly. So, when this virus pandemic hit and practically overnight EVERYTHING changed, some of our friends were catapulted into really tough circumstances. Not everyone can wait for the virus stimulus to show up…there are immediate needs. You may wonder how we find out about the needs. Actually in a lot of different ways. In the last couple weeks we’ve heard from three high school teachers that had concern for some of their teen parent students, we’ve heard directly from teens themselves, sometimes it’s been a mentor that’s heard of a need, and sometimes it’s what we see being shared on social media. Here are just a couple examples of what we have got to witness in the last week with church partners and other friends of YoungLives.

First Christian Church in Huntington Beach allowing families to fill out their own on-line shopping list, with their specific needs has been a tremendous gift. On top of the list being fulfilled, the items are then being delivered to the family’s doorstep. Talk about respectful ministry – wow…so beautiful!

Several mentors and volunteers of YoungLives have been excited to get to help out with some immediate needs as well…and the thing about these that we always love hearing about from the recipients is the extra love that was thrown in…a handwritten note of encouragement, some unasked for treats for everyone, or maybe a larger package of an item. Extra love that reminds them that the Lord is showing up for their family. When they ask, “why do you guys do this for us?”, the answer is simple – Jesus in us.

Thinking of you while we are all following “stay at home orders”

North OC YoungLives Team